Once I whipped out the dot fabric and denim, I couldn’t stop at centerpiece,
so you’re getting the whole table,
which is set up for dessert (minus the Apple Crisp Pie that I didn’t get a moment to bake beforehand).
(Oh, and minus coffee and tea cups too. I do not own a set of six matching coffee cups! I don’t even think I have a matching three.)

The only things I purchased for the table were two wooden dowels and two round, wooden plaques from JoAnn.
Everything else came from my craft room stash and cupboards.

For the centerpiece, I attached each dowel rod to the wooden plaque base with a screw,
spray painted both silver, and connected them with a stretch of floral wire.
(You could also use ribbon, vintage lace, jute twine, etc.)

I sewed five double-sided leaves (two white linen, two dot & white linen, and one denim and white linen),
putting wrong sides together and stitching around the edges like so…

Each leaf is hanging from the floral wire with a simple piece of white thread.

I love how they dance around when someone breezes by!

I used some of my not-so-traditional-Thanksgiving favorite fabrics,
but you could use anything you have on hand.
Flannel, burlap or Autumn colored leaves would look great if you wanted a more earthy and traditional Thanksgiving look.

The centerpiece was less than $4 to make (using two 40% off and two 50% off coupons for JoAnn).
If you have tall candlestick holders (which I did not), you could string your leaves between two of those
instead of making the wooden dowel poles.
You could also substitute the two dowels with two small tree branches.

I’ll most likely remove the centerpiece and set it aside when it’s time to serve dinner.
I don’t want leaves swimming in the butternut squash
and it annoys me when I have to look up, over, and around a centerpiece
in order to enjoy conversation.

{THE REST OF THE TABLE…}

You can’t see it very well in the photos,
but I took a gray jersey cotton sheet that I found at the thrift shop for a dollar,
ruched (just bunched up by hand) the ends,
and used torn muslin to tie the ends to each table leg.
It created a scallop on each side of the table.
(I’m so mad at myself for not taking a picture of that, but I hope you get the idea!)

Ruching the two ends just added a little texture to the table top.
I’m still undecided as to whether or not it looks intentional (nice) or just messy.
What do you think?

I sketched and cut out larger leaf shapes for the placemats.
They are double-sided too.

I sewed two leaves wrong sides together, left a little opening, flipped them right side out,
then topstitched around the edges.

Here is just one more placemat shot for good measure,
pictured with my white Belgian linen napkin rings and table runner from my softly spoken collection.

And for those of you with careful eyes, wondering what my family would eat dessert with, here you go…

I plan to just throw (as in carefully thought out ;) ) some forks into a vintage silverplate creamer
from Cory’s darling Etsy shop, Alina Rose Vintage.

This post is a little more picture heavy than usual, so I left out step-by-step tutorial pictures.
If you’d like a visual tutorial on how I made the centerpiece and placements, just let me know.

If you don’t sew, you can always cut leaf shapes for the centerpiece and placements
from a nice wool felt (not the thin, 49 cent craft store kind…although I suppose you could use that too).HERE is a link to wool felt on Etsy.Comes in tons of flavors.

{I also know someone who isn’t actually hosting Thanksgiving dinner this year and would probably sell you her set of denim & dot leaf placemats and six leaves for hanging. ;) }

This the first Thanksgiving project (of my own) that I’ve ever shared on my blog!

{TRADITION}
There are a handful of things that we do every Thanksgiving:

• Thanksgiving isn’t Thanksgiving without my mom, sisters, brother-in-laws, and nieces and nephews at the table.
My mother doesn’t cook, so Thanksgiving dinner is either hosted by me or my middle sister, Toni.
(We rotate Thanksgiving and Christmas. I’m actually on the books for Christmas this year.)

• We always watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, of course!
Thanksgiving preparation without the sound of the parade in the background just wouldn’t be the same.

• At the dinner table, we pray and then each person (including the little ones) says what they are thankful for.

• The little ones do a gift exchange at Christmas, so after Thanksgiving dinner, each child draws one name out of a basket.
He/she buys a Christmas gift for whoever is on the piece of paper.
(You probably know how that works, but just in case!)

• After all bellies are full and the mess is clean,
my sister and I get out our newspapers and begin sifting through the circulars, planning our Black Friday route.
Two Type A personalities come together in perfect harmony.
;)
We tuck our little ones in and we’re usually standing in line somewhere by 9 p.m., shopping until wee hours of the morning.
I don’t do it for the shopping though.
I do it for my sister and tradition.
I love bundling up in the freezing night, standing in line with hot coffee hand, and giggling with her about this & that.
It’s just our little thing and uninterrupted time that we look forward to year after year.
Despite the horror stories that you hear, in our town, Black Friday is mostly happy people
getting a head start on a little Christmas cheer.

• Lastly, my husband and I get out the Christmas tubs and start decorating the day after Thanksgiving!

What traditions do you have?
What are your creative Thanksgiving decor plans?

Let me know in the comments
or if you have a blog or a link to pictures on Flickr, etc., it’s time to link up your Thanksgiving (or Fall) ideas below!

Your denim and dot tablescape is dreamy, Jami. You know how much I love denim with whites :) The leaf shapes are perfect and so unique using your lovely non-traditional (for Fall) textiles. I just finished sewing two denim Christmas stockings last night. Not too bad for a trial run. I will be sharing them later in the week. Thanks for hosting!Elizabeth@ Blue Clear Sky recently posted..Christmas Tree Farm Sign

Hi Jami
Thank you dearly for taking the time to visit my creative peaceful home, I was so surprised at all the inspiration you create, to then you Tube it, I loved your fun video of your home with hiding those yucky tv wire cords, to them move onto sewing. Thank you for shring a bit of your talents and placing a face to your inspiring postings.

I am keeping a watch out for all the holiday inspiration you may create or feature.

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i’m Jami, the writer behind this blog…

I'm a laundry and vintage lovin' small town girl trying to live simply and appreciate life's blessings like a country girl, while chasing creative design dreams like a big city girl. I'm fixing up our 1964 ranch-style home one stitch, nail and brushstroke at a time, and I write about it all here. Click here to read more about my vintage chic slice of blog pie!